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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Affordable Housing Committee - 01/24/2017Approved February 8, 2017 South Burlington Affordable Housing Committee MINUTES January 24, 2017 4:00 p.m. Members Attending: Tom Bailey, Leslie Black-Plumeau, Sandy Dooley (arrived at 4:09 p.m.), Mike Simoneau, and John Simson Members Absent: None Others Present: Andrew Bolduc, South Burlington City Attorney Minutes: Sandy Dooley Agenda: 1. Call to order 2. Agenda review: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda item 3. Comments or questions from the public not related to the agenda 4. Review and approval of minutes from the January 3, 2017, Committee meeting 5. Schedule next meetings 6. Consider dra amendment to South Burlington Land Development Regulaons related to replacement housing 7. Other business 8. Adjourn Call to order: John Simson, committee chair, called the meeting to order at 4:05 PM. He welcomed City Attorney Andrew Bolduc to the meeting. Agenda review: The committee informally added “Schedule next meetings”, “Other business”, and “Adjourn” to the printed agenda. They also corrected the reference to the prior meeting’s minutes by deleting “December 6, 2016” and substituting “January 3, 2017.” Comments or questions from the public not related to the agenda: none Review and approval of minutes from the December 6, 2016, Committee meeting: Leslie moved and Tom seconded approval of the January 3, 2017, minutes as drafted. Motion passed by vote of 4 – 0 (Sandy had not yet arrived at meeting). Schedule next meetings: The committee agreed to the following meeting schedule for February and March: February 8, 2017 – 4 p.m. February 21, 2017 – 4 p.m. March 6, 2017 – 4 p.m. March 21, 2017 – 4 p.m. Consider draft amendment to South Burlington Land Development Regulations related to replacement housing: The committee reviewed and discusses the draft “18.03 Affordable Housing Preservation” land development regulations that Andrew had prepared. This review included comparing this draft to Burlington’s Housing Preservation and Replacement/Demolition and Conversion regulations that have been in place since 1988 0r 1989. The committee agreed that it needed more time to reach a decision on how certain parts of the draft regulation would benefit from modification. However, following extensive discussion, the committee reached consensus on whether the draft regulations should focus only on “affordable housing” or “all housing” in South Burlington. To formalize this consensus, Sandy moved and Leslie seconded that Andrew revise his draft of 18.03 Affordable Housing to remove the focus on preserving only affordable housing (versus all housing). Motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Below are aspects of the draft regulation that the committee deferred for further discussion at its February 8th meeting (this may not include all such aspects discussed at the meeting): (from Burlington Housing Preservation ordinance) – “The conversion to a nonresidential use of any housing unit located on the ground floor of a building within a mixed-use zoning district shall be exempt from the provisions of this Part.” What City employee would be responsible for declaring a housing “unit unfit for habitation pursuant to any order”? Suggestions: someone from the Fire Department, Director of Public Works (Justin Rabidoux is the City’s Health Officer). 18.03,F.(5) – “These units must be sold or leased to prospective occupants who qualify as low-income households at the time they first lease or purchase the unit;” Burlington ordinance adds the following to this provision: “These units must remain assisted housing, as either rental housing or limited equity housing, for a period of not less than (10) years from the date of first occupancy:” 18.03,G. – Should the in lieu of construction payment be $60,000 per unit or a formula, such as the one Burlington uses, which is: (A) determine Fair Market Rent for apartment with same number of bedrooms, (B) determine the (affordable) rent a household at the 65% of Area Median Income (AMI) would pay for an apartment with two bedrooms, (C) subtract (B) from (A), (D) multiply amount from (C) by 12, and (E) multiply amount from (D) by 10. 18.03,I. – needs clarification so that reader understands that all three “tests” are met. 18.03,J.(2) – This provision is in the Burlington ordinance but not in the draft SoBu regulation: The demolition or conversion of a housing unit that has rented, for the twenty-four (24) months preceding the date of application for conditional use approval, for a monthly charge in excess of twice the HUD Fair Market Rent for the Burlington MSA, adjusted for unit size. 18.03,J.(4) – needs clarification Other questions: What if the replacement requirement is for one unit? What should the rule be if the owner wants to apply to the DRB for relief (an adjustment in the owner’s replacement requirement of up to 50%)? Not a problem as replacement is via payment. However, does owner replace less than one housing unit? Should this regulation apply to the City Center district? If this regulation applies to the City Center district, how do we word it in light of the fact that Form-based Code does not regulate use? Other business: John will attend the January 24, 2017, Planning Commission meeting (that evening) and report on the Committee’s progress. He will share the substance of our motion on “affordable” versus “all housing” with them. Actions/Homework: All: continue review of the draft regulations Andrew prepared in comparison with Burlington’s regulations and other cities’ regulations relating to the preservation of housing. All: will continue to work on prior homework assignments that are not yet complete. Mike will continue his outreach to the O’Brien’s in hopes of recruiting a family member to join our committee. Adjourn: Mike moved and Tom seconded that the meeting be adjourned at 6:10 PM. Motion passed by vote of 5- 0.